In a study of patients with autism researchers have shown that cannabis as a treatment for autism spectrum disorders appears to be beneficial.
The study looked at the link between the use of medical cannabis and autism behavioural improvements in children with autism, who are 18 years old and under, and found cannabis to be a well-tolerated, safe and effective option to relieve symptoms including seizures, tics, depression, restlessness, and rage attacks.
The researchers from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) and Soroka University Medical Center reported that after six months of treatment that 80% of participants reported some level of improvement.
Cannabis and autism behavioural improvement
Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is an extensive developmental disorder that is expressed in almost all dimensions of the child’s development. It is now common to refer to this disorder as a wide range of Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD) in which there are various manifestations and symptoms.
BGU’s Dr Gal Meiri of the Negev Autism Center, said: “We analysed the data prospectively collected as part of the treatment program of 188 ASD patients treated with medical cannabis between 2015 and 2017. The treatment in majority of the patients was based on cannabis oil containing 30% cannabidiol oil (CBD) and 1.5% tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Symptoms, patient global assessment and side effects at six months were primary outcomes of interest and were assessed by structured questionnaires.”
The study was published in Scientific Reports and showed that after six months of treatment, 30% of patients reported a significant improvement, 53.7% reported moderate improvement, and only 15% had slight or no change.
Improvements in quality of life
The study also looked at the benefits of the use of cannabis and autism quality of life improvements. Quality of life, mood and ability to perform activities of daily living were assessed prior to treatment and at six months. Good quality of life was reported by 31.3% of patients prior to treatment initiation. At six months, good quality of life more than doubled to 66.8%. Positive mood was reported as 42% before treatment and 63.5% after six months.
Other aspects of independence and quality of life were assessed such as the ability to dress and shower independently. This improved significantly from cannabis treatment. Only a quarter (26.4%) reported no difficulty prior to the treatment while 42.9% improved their ability to dress and shower independently at six months.
The study also showed that cannabis oil medication was able to significantly improve sleep and concentration. Good sleep and concentration were reported by 3.3% and 0% respectively at the outset, compared to 24.7% and 14% during an active treatment.
Dr Victor Novack, of the BGU-Soroka Clinical Cannabis Research Institute, said: “While this study suggest that cannabis treatment is safe and can improve ASD symptoms and improve ASD patients’ quality of life, we believe that double blind placebo-controlled trials are crucial for a better understanding of the cannabis effect on ASD patients.”
If all this evidence has been collected why has the U.K. NICE come up with their “well researched” guide lines been so negative? Can they not read as most of the team do not have knowledge of the Endocannabinoid System?
Please I am a single mother of an autistic child. I am a graduate but I am finding it difficult to take care of him. He is showing signs of Healing. Please can someone send me the cannabis treatment. Please I want to see my son perfectly healed. Thank you
Hi there I have autism, autism is a developmental disability meaning your child has an entirely different brain to a neurotypical person, autism cannot be ‘healed’ as it is not something that can be fixed. Please don’t try to fix your child instead go and educate yourself on how to adapt to his disability ❤️
My grandson who is 5years old has autism and I would like to know if cannabis oil would help in anyway
Dear Henry,
Thank you for your interest in this article. Unfortunately, we only report on the news. We recommend you speak to a medical professional about this.
Kind regards
MCN Team
In my opinion, melatonin has been good so far. Cannabis oil is absolutely not the right choice. Try it and see. It doesn’t hurt to try. Unless you don’t want a day full of hell.
This has absolutely made my son’s autism/adha so much worse. He is going through crazy hell right now. Call me 972-626-4242.
Medical marijuana may be a controversial topic especially when it comes to treating children. There may be studies that shows how it can help treat some illness but it is still important to consult a professional.
As an autistic person myself, I find that whenever I have tried medical Marijuana, its has helped. I have multiple health conditions as well; it helps chronic pain as well as my ability to talk to people. It relaxes me to a point where I feel more comfortable talking to people, so it provides social practice. It also helps a lot with my concentration, and my thought process. It keeps me more calm as well. Idk about for children yall can argue about that all you want, but for an adult (19+) it really does help.
Thank you Makayla. My daughter, age 37 has high functioning autism and sounds a bit similar to you but much worse. She has social anxiety and has never had a friend, general anxiety, and depression. She has a job, but does not drive a car. She is taking 25mg of charlotte’s Web CBD and less than .03 THC. She just started. We live in Illinois where Cannabis is legal and Rachel has a Medical Cannabis Card. We are not restricted to less than .03 THC.
What type of cannabis has helped you? How much CBD:THC does it have. This would help tremendously if you knew the name of the Cannabis and I can go from there. If anyone out there can help, I would be so grateful for the information. I am a solid researcher and read, read, read before I act.
Thank you for the post!! I am so hopeful as this effects our entire family!!!!